Happy New Year!~

A household rule, written in stone. new year's eve has to be spent with family if i am back home. it's always dinner and countdown at one of the hotels around kuantan and then some time at the overcrowded beach, usually. this time, i think i will settle for watching the fireworks at london eye from diana's room. it's too much of an effort to bundle up and head out for a party. And this year's resolutions are.......

*drumroll*

Eat less, exercise more. Touch my toes.

let's hope for brighter days

he sat slumped, looking slightly defeated. i saw it all through the brief time we spent together. the big 'if' running though his mind. what if, if only. the slight pain and the immense loneliness accentuated by familiarity. he wanted it off his chest. just a few simple words that's so hard to utter, afraid that nobody would understand. but i do. i really do. more than anyone else could. it's something that you and i have had and lost, that we miss.

All good things come to an end

boxing day had me spent. jostling the crowds and wading through piles of clothes strewn on the floor i searched for worthy purchases to mark my first post christmas splurge spending. the ridiculously slashed prices lured and tempted me to buy buy buy. trudging home weighted down by shopping bags, we would all gather to parade our finds, even the boys!

but now, all the gallivanting is catching up with me. with new year around the corner, i feel no urge to step out of my room. no desire to celebrate. the pile of work and exams in two weeks has dampened my spirits. *sigh*

All i want for christmas

Dear Santa,

I have not been the best this year. In fact i have been rather naughty and slightly obstreperous. But there is one thing i really want. I don't think it will fit in my stockings even if i had one here. But i wouldn't mind it being delivered in a giant gift wrapped box, with some crackers and a bottle of celebratory champagne on the side.

love.

Part 3-France

Days 7-10

Somehow we managed to book ourselves into a very ghetto part of france. the elephant and castle of Paris. Garges-sarcelles, that is where we stayed for a night. Just one night, then we packed our bags and left the hood for a nice little hotel near Notre Dam.

The eiffel tower was lit blue, giving it a slightly seedy karaoke lounge appearance from far. As we came closer it was very pretty against the red night sky. Naturally, we went on a photo snapping frenzy. This place is filled with monuments and stunning architecture. One evening spent at the Louvre had me gawking at Picasso's work of modern art, all inspired by Delacroix.

Strolling down Champs Elysees, Louis Vutton beckoned. Everything there is outrageously expensive. 220 euros for a keychain. Hanad says that he will buy a titanium case to protect his LV bag if he ever got one.

Endless paninis, baguettes, cheese and chocolates filled my tummy in france. It sure was one heck of a trip.

Part 2-Belgium

Days 4-6

it was dodgy, the coach terminal. shady characters were hanging around. the metro station stank of urine and solid waste. like an animal shed. Thank god the city center was worlds apart.

Deep breath. The sweet smell of chocolate waffles and nutella crepes wafted through the air, tantalising and taunting my bottomless stomach. Bruxelles. Sani with his sharp sense of direction became our tour guide as we explored the city. Going in and out of the cobbled streets we soaked up the sun and snapped tonnes of photos. The manneken pis was very disapointing though, for all the hype about it, i expected a statue taller than a foot-long subway sandwich. But the yummy mussels soaked in white wine and escargots seasoned with peper and salt made up for that.

I wanted to see the atomium very badly, thinking it was a planetrium as well. It turned out to be a product of an expo, very similiar to the Eiffel Tower-with nothing much inside. There was a magnificient view of the whole of bruselles from the highest metal atom-like ball though. But that still didn't justify the 6 Euros entrance fee.

Coach tickets out of Brussels to Paris was sold out the day we wanted to leave. We had to stay an extra night and being the cheapskate students that we are, the 9 of us squeezed into a 3 persons dorm to wait out the hours before our 6 am bus to France the next day. Bonjour Parisj!

Part 1-Netherlands

Days 1-3

Deep breath. I took in the crisp morning air. It was laced with the smell of marijuana. Damnnn...i'm in Amsterdam. Staying around the corner from the red light district, the shops that dotted our street sold the quirkiest things. Hash pops, moaning pen holders, vibrators, dildos, booby stress balls, just to name a few.

I finally got to visit Anne Frank's house. Now I can put a picture to the words in her diary that i read as a child. A visit to the coffeeshop before going to her home left me feeling like i was on a swaying ferry ride as i climbed the steep stairs into the hiding den of the Frank family during the second world war. The space cake i had had was really yummy though, top class chocolate brownies.

I was looking forward to seeing what the flesh trade is all about. The legal prostitution in amsterdam is like a magnet that attracts flocks of tourists. Boy, i was not disapointed. Rows and rows of girls in skimpy lingerie sat in windows soliciting customers near Dam Square. I even watched a live sex show with several fascinating acts. One of it had a tall willowy young girl puffing on a cigar with her vajayjay. amazing.

Traffic was insane. The bicycle lanes, car roads and trams routes all interweave. To make matters worse, it's left-hand drive there. I never knew where to look before crossing a road, accidentally jaywalked across cycling paths and into cars, having a few close shaves. The gorgeous sunny days and pretty canals made it hard for us to get on a coach and leave for brussels, the next stop on our 'spur of the moment' planned trip.